Ombudsman’s Office Raises Alarm over High Number of Children Detained by Police in Tirana

Following the recent protests in Tirana, the Office of People’s Advocate has conducted a series of inspections and visits to the Tirana’s police stations as well as to the main health centers.
According to a preliminary report found on its webpage released on Friday, the working groups of the People’s Advocate have closely followed not only the protests of the last two days, but also the subsequent situation during the escort of citizens by the Police
“The number of escorts was high: 124 persons of which 57 juveniles. The juveniles were released after their verification and at the time of the inspection only 2 juveniles were arrested, one 16 years old and the other 17. This is a number several times higher than the escort and detention capacities in the local directorates and commissariats of the capital, which can accommodate only 33 detained and about 25 arrested,” said the report.
It is noted that some juveniles under the age of 14 were also accompanied and that the escort procedures for them presented some problems for which an in-depth investigation will be carried out.
The People’s Advocate raises the concern that the problems related to overcrowding or relevant procedures for escorting citizens in general but also in terms of health emergency in particular have remained unaddressed and the situation is still problematic. /argumentum.al